FTT - Digital Badging Part 2

Becoming a Game Manager - Awarding and Posting Digital Badges

@joe_edtech/@LisaBerghoff

Last week we discussed some recent research about why "gamifying" your classroom can engage learners who have otherwise turned off school. We also introduced you to OpenBadges.me, a free tool you can use to create digital badges for your students.

Adding elements of gaming to your class can be powerful, but it isn't easy, and creating digital badges for your students is just one step in the process. Probably the bigger, and more important, step is to actually create a system for rewarding your students with badges and providing them with opportunities to "level up." ClassBadges is a tool that can help make that process easier:

From the ClassBadges website: "ClassBadges is a free online tool where teachers can award badges to students for accomplishments or academic mastery. Through your teacher account, you can award badges customized for your classroom or school. Badges can easily be aligned to academic goals or associated with existing school awards."

Here is one of their examples on a Science badge and how you might use the badge in a lesson, posted by contributor, Jordan Aitkins:

Space Time TED Ed below.

ClassBadges is probably not a platform you'll want to use if you plan to add Gaming on a large scale (I'll have a couple of examples of those in the coming weeks), however, if you are looking to add some gaming elements to a single lesson, or offer your students something extra, ClassBadges could be just the tool you are looking for.

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Thanks to Jaime Stasiorowski for bringing ClassBadges to our attention!

FTT - OpenBadge.me

Changing the Educational Game

with Digital Badging

@joe_edtech/@LisaBerghoff

A couple of years ago, I attended a conference that hosted a TEDx event instead of a Keynote address. Perhaps the most outstanding speaker I saw that night was Ali Carr-Chellman from Penn State University who talked about her program, "Re-Engaging Boys." If you have a few minutes, you can watch her TED Talk below:

If you don't have time to watch the whole thing, here's a brief summary of a couple of the statistics she cites:

• For every 100 girls suspended from school, there are 250 boys suspended from school.
• For every 100 girls expelled from school, there are 335 boys expelled from school.
• For every 100 girls in special education, there are 217 boys.
• For every 100 girls diagnosed with emotional disturbance, there are 324 boys.
• The numbers are worse for boys of color, or boys who come from economically challenged homes.
• Boys are 4 times as likely as girls to be identified with ADHD.
• 60% of Baccalaureate Degrees go to women - some universities are approaching 70%

One of Professor Carr-Chellman's suggestions is that we can re-engage boys by utilizing video games in the classroom. While her research might be the most extensive on the topic, Professor Carr-Chellman's conclusions are not unique. There is a growing chorus of teachers out there who suggest that adding some elements of gamification can boost student engagement across the board, but especially in boys. 

I started thinking about this topic again because Lisa and I attended the CoSN conference two weeks ago, and the most dynamic session I attended while I was there was about gamification in the classroom by Dr. Liz Kolb from the University of Michigan. Dr. Kolb said her research was really in its beginning phases, but she had seen some positive results by adding elements of gaming to her preservice education courses, and she reported that those gains were highest amongst her male students.

Dr. Kolb suggested that it is fairly easy to start the process of gamification by instituting some student choice into your classroom activities and awarding students digital badges based on accomplishments. I think I'll have much more to offer the district from Dr. Kolb's work in the very near future, but for those of you who might be ready to start badging in the classroom, you need two things. You need a site for creating badges, and you need a site for posting and awarding your badges. For this week, let's focus on creating digital badges.

Part of the Mozilla Open Badges Project, OpenBadges.me allows you to create simple graphic badges that you can download to your computer and post to any website. According to the website, the OpenBadges.me "designer provides a simple way to layer different shapes and images on top of each other to create an attractive Open Badge graphic. The tool lets you add text, color elements, move certain elements and even fade items in and out - all presented in an easy-to-use web page."

Click here for an easy to follow guide on using OpenBadges.me. If you get stuck, you can even go to the guide and post a question. Someone from the Open Badges community will respond to your question.

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Next week, I'll provide you with three different platforms for posting and awarding badges to your students.

FTT - Google Keep

Do You Have To-Do Lists On Your To-Do Lists? Organize and keep it all straight with Google Keep.

@LisaBerghoff/@joe_edtech

Spring is here! The sun is shining earlier in the morning, the birds are chirping, the winter coats are getting closer and closer to the closet. I'm hoping to actually put them away very soon. This time of year always motivates me to clean out the clutter and reevaluate my organizational systems. My friends who are not teachers often make comments like "Oh, things must be winding down for the end of the school year." Ha! Those of us who work in schools know that the end of the year is actually something along the lines of running full speed into a brick wall.  Fourth quarter just gets busier and busier until it comes to a screeching halt.  I often wonder how it will all get done. This is when I really need some help with productivity and organization. My to-do lists start branching off into other lists and I begin to worry that something is going to fall through the cracks. 

Our buddies at Google have created a little known tool called Google Keep. Google Keep is a note-taking service that allows you to make virtual sticky notes. You can create lists, use images, color code your notes, and of course share your notes with others so you can collaborate and keep everyone in the loop.  GKeep is friendly, colorful, and easy to use. Also, you can use your Google apps account information to log in so there is no need to create a new account and create another password that you may or may not remember. There is a GKeep app that can be added to your android phone, iphone, or tablet. Think of Google Keep as a digital version of that little notebook that you may carry around with you. I keep a composition book in my bag and will often write little notes to myself or start brainstorming ideas in that book. With Google Keep, I don't need to have my book with me because I can access it from pretty much anywhere.

Screenshot from Lisa's computer using GKeep

Using Google Keep (or GKeep as the cool kids call it) makes a lot of sense for helping to keep track of your own to-do lists, big ideas, reminders, etc. As with all Google apps, it saves automatically and syncs to all of your devices. You can also add labels to make it even easier to locate all of your incredible ideas and important information. Of course you can search your notes so when you have amassed a large amount of amazing, inspiring, thought-provoking ideas you can retrieve them without a problem. 

When I think of classroom applications for GKeep, I know my students would benefit from using it when they are working on group projects. Imagine if a group of students used shared to-do lists which they can check off as tasks are completed.  Or at the very start of a project, they could create notes to keep track of their brainstorming thoughts. When we think about next generation skills, we know that being able to effectively work in groups on collaborative projects is extremely important. 

Students can use Google Keep for their own notes in class and can set reminders based on date and time OR location. For example, it can be set to remind me to update my blog when I get to my house. 

Got 47 seconds?  Here's an informational video about Google Keep:

What are some other ways that you use Google Keep in the classroom? Feel free to share in the comments section below.

FTT - Twitter for Professional Development

"Follow me! Follow me to Freedom!"

@joe_edtech/@LisaBerghoff

Well, that might be a little dramatic, but I always get excited when we can connect in very cool new ways. And this is cool, I am writing to you from my "spacious" coach seat on board my American Airlines flight to Washington DC. Lisa and I are attending and presenting at the CoSN National Conference on Ed Tech Conference this week. Of course, we'll share our presentation and all of the new resources we get when we get back. But, we really don't want to wait that long to tell you about the great things happening here. 

Even if you never send a Tweet, Twitter can be an amazing Professional Development tool for educators. This week, Lisa and I will be Tweeting out lots of information from the Conference, some of it you'll be able to use in your classes right away. Some of it will just be fun. For instance, we got to hear Daniel Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, give the Keynote address. He opened the tech conference by talking about how important devloping art skills is. And he challenged everyone in the audience. "You can't change everything in your school district at once, but you can one small thing you can change tomorrow and make things better."

We also got to meet Megan Smith, United States Chief Technology Officer, Assistant to the President focusing on how technology, policy, data and innovation can improve the future of our nation. She talked about the importance of offering creativity tools, maker spaces, and authentic coding experiences to reach even our most disenfranchised students.

Lisa and Joe Hobnobbing with Megan Smith

To follow the rest of the conversation and conference activities, all you have to do is get a FREE Twitter account and search for the hashtag #CoSN16. If you are new to Twitter, here's a short video from Dan Krutka, Ph.D..to help you get started:

Once you get logged in, try following some of these great educational resources:

• Edutopia - The George Lucas Foundation for Education
• NSBA - The National School Board Association
• David Pogue - Tech columnist, NY Times; PBS NOVA host; Missing Manuals creator, dad of 3!
• Common Sense Media - Organization for Research Based Digital Citizenship Curriculum
• Deerfield High School
• Deerfield High School Libraries

And that doesn't even scratch the surface. You can follow writers, other teachers, colleges, organizations, teams, politicians (ugh, I don't recommend following them).

Here are some great lists and resources you can use.

10 Educators On Twitter You Should Follow (But Probably Don't)

100 Terrific Twitter Feeds for Teaching Advice

All you need to do to get started is create an account on Twitter.com. HOWEVER, before you do, click here and check out "The Ultimate Twitter Guide for Teachers." Jeff Dunn (@edudemic) provides you with:

• A beginner's guide to Twitter (including video)
• Information on Twitter Etiquette
• Advice for Teachers New to Twitter
• 35 Interesting Ways to use Twitter in the Classroom

And much, much more.

Once you start using Twitter, you'll learn about "hashtags" (#). They are used in Tweets to denote important topics, and to make Twitter feeds more searchable and user friendly. The most important hashtag for educators is #edchat. Click here to get an idea of the myriad of topics discussed on Twitter labeled #edchat.

Find Twitter Here - And create your free account today.

By the way, there are two great HashTags (#) you should be following and contributing to if you are on Twitter:

#DHS__Pride = Tag the great staff, students, and accomplishments we have.
#D113PLN = Contribute to our online Professional Learning Network

MOST IMPORTANTLY, this week, follow #CoSN16.  Our session, "What NOT To Do With Technology In The Classroom" will be Tuesday, April 5, from 1:45 to 2:45 Central Time.